I had a large sea lion try and climb on my kayak about three miles off of Oceanside. Luckily, a few whacks of my 1 lb. paddle on the 300 lb. beast persuaded him to go back to swimming. Had a few fish stolen by them as well, but I guess they gotta eat too.
Here's a sea lion macking a yellowtail I caught. Fair is fair; I need to eat too.
I move way inland and what do you know;
sea lions are parked in front of the fish ladders of the Bonneville Dam here in the Columbia Gorge eating salmon and sturgeon; fish that cost taxpayers millions of dollars trying to keep from going extinct.
Humans do not seem to be able to replicate the balance of nature; no matter how hard they try.